Electric toothbrush

ABSTRACT

An electric toothbrush relates to personal care products, oral care products, namely, toothbrushes. The technical problem to be solved by this technical solution is the lack of functional portable electric toothbrushes that are easy to transport and couple bristles for cleaning with a cleaning agent. Similar toothbrush currently on the market do not provide adequate hygiene, namely, cleaning agent is discharged from the bore directly through the bristles, which results in the ingress of catalase, bacteria into the internal container with cleaning agent. This technical problem is solved by achieving such a technical result as improving the quality of brushing teeth, by ensuring the hygiene of the portable electric toothbrush that couples a bristle for cleaning with a cleaning agent. The technical result is achieved due to the fact that the electric toothbrush consists of a bottle body containing the cleaning agent, a neck with a bristle attachment, a push dispenser for feeding the cleaning agent, while the bottle body and the neck with the bristle attachment are connected by a fixing device and move in the longitudinal plane relative to each other, wherein the neck housing comprises an insert-type electric actuator tightly fixed therein, a compartment for at least one battery, an insulating cover of the compartment, and a button for activating the device, wherein the bristle attachment performs a vibration movement, and wherein the spout outlet of the pressure head does not come into contact with the bristle attachment when in the folded position.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to personal care products, oral careproducts, namely, toothbrushes. It can be manufactured by consumer goodsindustry enterprises.

STATE OF ART

A technical solution disclosed in the utility model U.S. Pat. No.3,937,235A (IPC: A46B11/0017, publication/priority date: 5 Dec. 1974) isknown: Toothbrush with paste cartridge.

The disadvantage of this patent is that feeding of cleaning agent fromthe brush handle is done through the feed channels directly to thebristles, which creates the risk of entering the contaminants into thecontainer with cleaning agent. In addition, there is a risk ofinadvertent feeding of the cleaning agent, since this process is drivenby the movement of the brush relative to the handle.

A system for feeding a fluid for oral care is also known from atechnical solution presented in the text of the utility model U.S. Pat.No. 159,434 (IPC: A46B 11/00, publication date: 10 Feb. 2016).

However, this technical solution provides feeding of cleaning agentthrough the feed channels directly to the bristles of the brush,creating a risk of entering the contaminants into the container withcleaning agent. Also, a disadvantage of this technical solution is thatit is necessary to separate the container with the cleaning agent fromthe whole housing of the toothbrush for “filling” it.

A technical solution No. 180620 (IPC: A46B 9/04, date of publication: 19Jun. 2018) is also known. This patent has the disadvantage that thefeeding is done directly through the feed channels to the bristles ofthe toothbrush.

The closest analogue is patent of invention U.S. Pat. No. 2,255,707“Device for cleaning teeth” (IPC: A61 C17/22, publication date: 20 Mar.2005). It is the handle of an electric device for cleaning teeth, whichhandle comprises a connecting portion for connecting a cleaning tool, inparticular a removable brush, a drive for driving the connected cleaningtool, and also a control device for controlling the drive, wherein thecontrol device has an operation interlock device and a coding checkdevice for recognizing the code of a disconnecting device for theconnected cleaning tool, wherein the interlock device is configured forbeing disconnected by the disconnecting device provided in particular onthe cleaning tool, depending on the signal from the coding check device.

The disadvantage of this technical solution is the lack of thepossibility of feeding of the cleaning agent through the housing and thelack of the portable movement due to toothbrush folding.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a general view of an electric toothbrush.

FIG. 2 is an external view of the electric toothbrush in a foldedposition with a cap.

FIG. 3 is toothbrush lock-on connection.

FIG. 4 is the electric toothbrush, a general view of the product.

FIG. 5 is a top view of an electric actuator.

FIG. 5a is a bottom view of the electric actuator.

FIG. 6 is the electric actuator with the motor.

These drawings are illustrated by the following positions: 1—bottlebody, 2—neck, 3—bristle attachment, 4—push dispenser, 5—protective cap,6—fixing device, 7—spout of the head, 8—cap pocket, 9—piston, 10—holefor air intake, 11—push button of the dispenser, 12—groove at the baseof the neck, 13—projections, 14—output shaft, 15—motor, 16—electronicconverter, 17—battery compartment, 18—insulating cover of thecompartment, 19—an activation button, 20—lock on the electric actuatorhousing.

ESSENCE OF THE INVENTION

The technical problem to be solved by this technical solution is thelack of functional portable electric toothbrushes that are easy totransport, comprising combination of bristles for cleaning and acleaning agent, without which it is impossible to achieve the resultwhen using thereof. Also, similar toothbrushes that are currently on themarket do not provide adequate hygiene, namely, the cleaning agent isdischarged from the bore directly through the bristles, which results inthe ingress of catalase, bacteria into the internal container containingthe cleaning agent.

This technical problem is solved by achieving such a technical result asimproving the quality of brushing teeth, by ensuring the hygiene of theportable electric toothbrush combining bristles for cleaning and thecleaning agent.

The technical result is achieved due to the fact that the electrictoothbrush consists of a bottle body containing a cleaning agent, a neckwith a bristle attachment, a push dispenser for the cleaning agentfeeding, wherein the bottle body and the neck with the bristleattachment are connected by a fixing device and move in the longitudinalplane relative to each other, wherein the neck housing comprises aninsert-type electric actuator tightly fixed therein, a compartment forat least one battery, an insulating cover of the compartment, and abutton for activating the device, wherein the bristle attachmentperforms vibration movement, and wherein the spout outlet of thepressure head does not come into contact with the bristle attachmentwhen in the folded position.

The bottle body of the toothbrush contains the cleaning agent, which maybe in the form of a friable substance, a viscous substance, a toothpastein the liquid state or a tooth foam. According to the present technicalsolution, the concept of “bottle body” is understood to mean any housinghaving an internal cavity for a substance. It performs a protectivefunction and is the shape-generating element of the toothbrush handle.

The push dispenser (4) is used to feed the cleaning agent from thebottle body to the bristle attachment of the toothbrush neck (2). Whenpressing the push button of the dispenser, the inner part of the pushbutton creates pressure on the container of the bottle body (1), namely,on the compression chamber with the cleaning agent, by closing thebottom valve or hinge separating the deformable compression chamber fromthe main container of the bottle body, thereby preventing back extrusionof the cleaning agent into the main container of the bottle body throughthe feeding tube. The cleaning agent, due to the formed pressure, flowsthrough the spout of the head (7) of the push dispenser onto the bristleattachment (3) of the toothbrush. After stopping the pressure on thepush button (11) of the dispenser, the push button, due to the spring orthe created vacuum, which is created by the air coining from the hole(10), returns to its original position in the process of equalizing thepressure, thereby creating the effect of pressure compensation in thecompression chamber. A valve or hinge located in the upper part of thetapering end of the compression chamber of the push dispenser clogs theoutlet channel, and a valve or hinge located in the lower part of thecompression chamber opens or frees up the passage of the feeding tube,and the cleaning agent from the main container of the bottle body entersinto the compression chamber through the feeding tube. The compressionchamber is filled with the cleaning agent, the push button of the pushdispenser returns to its original position, and the pullback spring alsotakes up its original undeformed position.

The push button can be made in the form of a cylinder made of a rigidmaterial, for example, a plastic polymer or metal, and the width and/orlength of the cylinder can vary depending on the parameters of theopening for the push button in the bottle body. Also, the push buttoncan have the shape of a semicircle. However, in the claimed technicaldevice, the spout of the push dispenser head and the push button areparts of the push dispenser, therefore, the size of the spout depends onthe parameters of the push button. As a result, the convenience ofpressing the push button of the dispenser and the volume of the cleaningagent fed for one full press of the push button of the dispenser are offundamental importance to us. The most convenient is the push button ofthe dispenser in the form of a cylinder with a base circle radius of 70mm to 1 cm and a height of 1 cm to 1.5 cm.

Also, this technical solution provides a replaceable toothbrush bristleattachment (3). In one of the options, the replaceable toothbrushbristle attachment can be made with projections on its lower part, andthe neck of the toothbrush (2) can have corresponding grooves, designedin such a way that when the projections of the replaceable toothbrushbristle attachment enter the grooves of the toothbrush neck, fixation ofthe replaceable toothbrush bristle attachment is achieved, whichprevents the replaceable toothbrush bristle attachment from falling outof the toothbrush neck. To use the invention in order to achieve thetechnical result and solve the technical problem, it is necessary to usethe bristle attachment and the neck of the bottle body as a single unit.

The electric toothbrush has a protective cap (5) that fits over thebristle attachment and the push dispenser (4) and prevents contaminantsfrom entering the replaceable toothbrush bristle attachment, whichresults in increasing the overall lifetime of single replaceablebristle. The protective cap is one-piece and is put on simultaneously onthe bristle attachment and on the push dispenser, which reduces the riskof losing the protective cap. The protective cap also functions as asupport for the toothbrush when in the open position, due to the factthat the protective cap has a larger base area in comparison with thebase of the push dispenser, which cap is the footing of the toothbrushwhen in the open position. which in turn ensures the stability of thetoothbrush in the upright position. The protective cap itself consistsof a cap that protects the push dispenser and a pocket (8) that protectsthe bristle attachment (3).

It should also be noted that there is no direct contact between thespout outlet of the pressure head and the bristle attachment when in thefolded position; as a result, there is no possibility of catalaseingress onto the surface of the outlet opening, which results in nofavorable environment for the bacterial microflora development, theorganisms of which could later get onto the bristles together withcleaning agent.

The bottle body and the neck of the toothbrush are connected by thefixing device (6), which allows the invention to realize moving thebottle body and the neck with the bristle attachment in the longitudinalplane of the brush, relative to each other in such a manner thatbristles are opposite the pressure head spout outlet opening when theneck is folded.

The fixing device can in particular be made in the form of a metalfastener having the form of a loop arrow or a surface hinge. Thesemounts can be made of a different material that allows the mount towithstand the bending load when folding the toothbrush up. However, themost practical is to use a loop arrow in the toothbrush, since itsdesign is more mobile due to one tapered end attached to the neck of thetoothbrush. The second end of the loop-arrow is made in the form of ahollow tube, both edges of which fall into the corresponding cylindricalgrooves located on the circumference of the upper part of the bottlebody. Moreover, the distance between the base of the loop arrow and thegrooves is less than the length of a cylinder groove, and therefore theloop arrow tube does not fall out of the grooves. The electrictoothbrush is fixed when it is expanded 180 degrees from the initialposition, wherein the toothbrush neck and the bottle body are fixed inthe same plane by lock-on connection, which is provided by the presenceof a groove (12) at the base of the toothbrush neck, while theprojection located at the base of the bottle body enters therein. In oneof the embodiments, a more effective fixation is achieved due to thepresence of two cuts located vertically on the sides of the projection(13), which cuts end at the base of the bottle body. A click may be asignal of a firm connection of two fasteners.

At the bottom of the bottle body, there is also a piston (9), which is aprotective plate that prevents the cleaning agent from flowing/spillingout of the bottle body container through the air hole (10). The pistonis made of a material identical to the material of the bottle body ofthe toothbrush, namely, plastic polymer. The piston is made in the formof a circle so that the proportion and shape of the total area of thepiston circumference and the bottom of the bottle body provides theirfull contact with no space between the inner wall of the bottle body andthe edges of the piston circumference.

The electric toothbrush also has an electric actuator, which comprisesan output shaft (14), motor (15), and an electronic converter (16). Theelectric actuator is located in the neck housing, which makes itpossible to fold the toothbrush into an inoperative position withoutdamaging the system of the electric actuator.

The electric actuator is insert-type. For tight fixation of the electricactuator in the neck housing, it is necessary to place it into the neckhousing until three locks (20) located on the electric actuator body arelocked in with the corresponding three holes on the neck housing, whichholes provide tight fastening the actuator in the neck housing. Thus,when the electric actuator is activated, the vibration emanating fromthe electric toothbrush housing and bristles of the bristle attachmentwill not contribute to unbalancing the electric actuator or falling outof the operating position, with the possibility of closing the electriccircuit for the operation of the invention.

The electric toothbrush provides the compartment for at least onebattery (17) and the insulating cover of the compartment (18), which arealso located on the neck of the brush. At the same time, the insulatingcover of the compartment isolates the battery from moisture penetrationdue to a snug fit to the neck housing at the site of the batterycompartment.

To activate the device, the activation button (19) is provided, which isalso located on the neck of the electric toothbrush. When it is pressed,the electronic circuit is closed. After that, the motor and the outputshaft are set in motion, providing vibration movement of the bristleattachment.

The bottle body and the neck housing can be made of a biodegradablepolymer, which is degradable over time, in order to preventenvironmental pollution, while the protection of environment stillremains actual. The decomposition of the housing occurs as a result ofnatural chemical processes.

In addition, it is clear from the foregoing disclosure that theinvention is not limited to the foregoing embodiment. Numerous possiblemodifications, changes, variations and substitutions within the spiritand scope of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in therelevant art.

For toothbrush use, the protective cap is removed from the bristleattachment and the push dispenser, the button of the push dispenser ispressed, and the cleaning agent is squeezed onto the bristle attachmentof the toothbrush. Then, the last is “opened” in such a way that theneck of the toothbrush is fixed in the grooves of the bottle body. Theprotective cap is put on the lower part of the bottle body, therebyprotecting the push dispenser from the ingress of contaminants. Then,the activation button is pressed, the electric toothbrush vibrates. Dueto vibration, the quality of brushing the teeth and the oral cavity isimproved, which contributes to the achievement of the technical result,namely, the improvement of the quality of brushing the teeth, due to thehygiene of the portable electric toothbrush, which couples bristles forcleaning with the cleaning agent.

For “filling” the container of the bottle body with the cleaning agent,it is necessary to remove the push dispenser by disconnecting it fromthe bottle body, “fill” the container with the cleaning agent, and thenattach the push dispenser to the bottle body. The push dispenser isfixed to the bottle body due to the adhesion of the threading on theouter surface of the neck of the bottle body to the threading on theinner surface of the base of the push dispenser.

In the present application materials, the disclosure of the preferredembodiment of the claimed technical solution is presented, which is notmeant to be limiting. Other particular embodiments that do not go beyondthe scope of legal protection defined by the claims will be apparent tothose skilled in the relevant art.

We claim:
 1. An electric toothbrush consisting of a bottle bodycontaining a cleaning agent, a neck with a bristle attachment, a pushdispenser for feeding the cleaning agent, while the bottle body and theneck with the bristle attachment are connected by a fixing device andmove in the longitudinal plane relative to each other, wherein the neckhousing comprises an insert-type electric actuator tightly fixedtherein, a compartment for at least one battery, an insulating cover ofthe compartment, and a button for activating the device, wherein thebristle attachment performs a vibration movement, and wherein the spoutoutlet of the pressure head does not come into contact with the bristleattachment when in the folded position.
 2. The electric toothbrushaccording to claim 1, wherein the bristle attachment is madereplaceable.
 3. The electric toothbrush according to claim 1, whereinsaid toothbrush has a protective cap.
 4. The electric toothbrushaccording to claim 3, wherein the protective cap consists of a cap and apocket for the bristle attachment.
 5. The electric toothbrush accordingto claim 1, wherein the bottle body and the neck are made of plastic. 6.The electric toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the brush is fixedwhen expanded 180 degrees from the initial position, and wherein theneck of the toothbrush and the bottle body are fixed in the same planeby lock-on connection.
 7. The electric toothbrush according to claim 1,wherein the cleaning agent is made in the form of a friable substance.8. The electric toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the cleaningagent is made in the form of a viscous substance.
 9. The electrictoothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning agent is made inthe liquid state.
 10. The electric toothbrush according to claim 1,wherein the cleaning agent is made in the form of a foam.
 11. Theelectric toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the bottle body andthe neck housing are made of a biodegradable polymer.